Wednesday, July 13, 2011

BLACKFEET or BLACKFOOT INDIANS

Is it Blackfoot or Blackfeet?

"Blackfoot" is the English translation of the word siksika, which means "black foot." It refers to the dark colored moccasins the people wear. Some Blackfoot people are annoyed by the plural "Blackfeet," which is obviously an anglicization. But most Blackfoot people accept both terms. "Blackfoot" is more commonly used in Canada, and "Blackfeet" is more commonly used in the United States.

History

Member of an American Indian people who migrated from the Great Lakes north and west into the Saskatchewan River valley, Canada, and Montana, in the early 1700s. Their name derives from their black moccasins. They comprise three sub-tribes: the Peigan (Pikuni), Blood (Kaini), and Siksika (Blackfeet); and speak an Algonquian dialect. Like the Plains Indians, they were skilled buffalo hunters even before they acquired horses and guns in the 18th century, and had a warrior culture. White settlement and the near extinction of the buffalo in the 1880s ended their nomadic lifestyle. Most now farm reservations. They number about 27,100 (2000) in the USA, and 15,000 in Alberta, Canada.


The Blackfeet were renowned for their horse riding skills, and maintained large herds of horses; stealing horses gave a warrior prestige. Buffalo and other big game provided nearly all their basic needs, including food, clothing, and tepee covers. During the winter the Blackfeet dispersed into scattered hunting bands to follow the buffalo herds, but came together in the summer to celebrate the sun dance, their main religious ceremony. Other important rituals included the sweat lodge and buffalo tongue ceremonies. All major ceremonies were presided over by an elderly medicine woman.

A fiercely aggressive people, they drove weaker groups from their lands and fought with their neighbours, taking scalps. Their main rivals were the Crow. The Blackfeet had a cohesive political structure, and consultations between the chiefs took place on any matters affecting the Blackfeet as a whole.


The Blackfeet originally hunted buffalo on foot, using bows and arrows, but were introduced to horses by the Shoshone, who attacked them on horseback in 1730. They soon obtained their own horses through trade with the Salish and Nez Percé, and acquired guns in 1780. In 1781 the Blackfeet suffered severely from smallpox, and their numbers dwindled from an estimated 15,000 to about 6,000. However, they continued to control the northern Great Plains and prevented white settlement in their territory until their hold was loosened by another devastating smallpox epidemic in 1837 that killed two thirds of the population. In 1855 their territory was defined by treaty with the US government.


White settlement began in Blackfoot country in 1860, and in 1865 fighting broke out with the settlers. In 1870, 200 Piegan (a sub-tribe of the Blackfeet), including women and children, were killed in the Marias Massacre, an unprovoked attack on a friendly camp by the US army who were hunting a hostile party. By the 1870s commercial buffalo hunting had drastically reduced supplies of the Blackfeet's staple food. Although the 1882 winter buffalo hunt was successful, as prairie fires had driven northern herds into Montana, in the winter of 1883–84 the buffalo suddenly disappeared and over 600 Blackfeet died of starvation. Survivors were forced to give up their hunting lifestyle and take up farming.

Between 1907 and 1912 their US reservation lands were divided into allotments, with individuals receiving 140 ha/350 acres.


Most Blackfeet now live on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana and Blackfeet reservations in Alberta, Canada.

20 comments:

  1. The correct name is BLACKFOOT to name the Tribe people, but someone wrongly thought that if you refer to them in plural you should change it to blackfeet. Remember, we're not talking or referring to an object (in this case the feet), which in that case you would correctly use the WORD blackfeet. The name BLACKFOOT is the NAME of the tribe, IT'S NOT A WORD. So, let's refer to these natives correctly: BLACKFOOT.

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    1. While I agree with most of this post, most dont understand that at one point the tribe split into two. Those of us that live in Montana part of the res we are blackfeet and those that live in the Canada part of the res is blackfoot. It's a way to distinguish between who lives on what side of the border.

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    2. ive always been told blackfoot so that is the name i use when im asked what tribe we are from. my grandfather is dale titus whom was born and raised in cleveland . very proud to be part blackfoot explains alot about me.

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    3. how many FEET do you have ? they lived on the blackfoot river. we are not that stupid to think that we have only one foot

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    4. Actually the correct term is Blackfoot Confederacy. 4 tribes make up the Blackfoot confederacy, One of these 4 tribes is called the Blackfeet. AND it is all a miss translation the Blackfoot confederacy is called Pikuni in Blackfoot. Its translation means "the people" not Blackfoot. The Blackfeet called themselves Amsacapi Pikuni meaning "the real people". It was all miss translated but we have idiots like you out saying that its about the plurals and situations to use which.

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    5. According to the tribe's website, they refer to themselves as Blackfeet Indians: https://blackfeetnation.com/

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  2. I am Blackfoot. I was told a tribe,was Blackfeet more than one. A Blackfoot was just one.

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    1. I am also Blackfoot and you have it wrong. All 4 tribes are the BLACKFOOT confederacy. ONE of these 4 tribes is the BLACKFEET Tribe.

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  3. I am Blackfoot. I was told a tribe,was Blackfeet more than one. A Blackfoot was just one.

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    1. I was told the inter-racial mixing of cherokee with Africans coined this term...blackfoot cherokee. Is this correct ???

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  4. Is it true, some of the blackfoot tribe resided in Louisiana?

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  5. I was aways told my parternal grandfarther was part Blackfoot Indian.I want to know if it's possible that an African American from Delta Mississippi can be part Black foot Indian?






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  6. still going to miss use the native american language they lived on the blackfoot river the people were called blackfeet the english interpretations are still wrong

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    1. NOT TRUE! There are 4 tribes that make up the Blackfoot confederacy. One of those 4 tribes is the Blackfeet tribe.

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  7. To the Author of this post, I think you need a little lesson on the correct use of our name. We are all part of the Blackfoot Confederacy which is made up of 4 tribes. ONE of these tribes is the Blackfeet. However the word Blackfoot is not a translation of the word sisika which is the name of one of the other tribes called the bloods. They got Blackfoot because white settlers and explorers did not understand Native American sign language and saw the blackness of there moccasins and assumed that to be there name. The Blackfoot word for their confederacy is Pikuni meaning "the people". The work for the Blackfeet Tribe is Amscapi Pikuni meaning "the real people". the Blackfeet tribe is now in present day Montana in the U.S. One of the 4 tribes was wiped out in the late 1700's from disease and the remaining two tribes are found in Canada.

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    1. Oki(hello) nitaniko (my name is Dawn Apotokahn (Weasel Head Anasta (family) Amskapi Pikuni. KNowN From North to South are the Siksika, or Blackfoot, next the Kanai, or Blood, then the Apa’tosee or Northern Pikuni in Canada and southernmost are Montana’s Blackfeet Nation, the Amskapi Pikuni means Southern Pikuni cause we are south of Canada. AndAnd Niitistapi means Original People or the Real People, we are the Orignal People of the North. The Blackfeet are a.ka.the Raiders of the Northwestern Plains & we are a among the oldest prehistoric residents of the northwestern plains. Blackfoot territory at its maximum expanse was around 28 million acres extending as far north as Edmonton, Alberta and the North Saskatchewan River and as far south as the Yellowstone River in southern Montana. The territory ran from the ‘Backbone of the World". And we are one of the four Nations in the U.S. who has Never been relocated, we have always been here and we are still here. My family are from Montana Blackfeet Reservation and Canada Blood Reserve. And my people were Never wiped out. I am a tribal member and I do Not speak for our people. But Chief Earl Old Person does speaks for our people the Blackfeet in Montana, on the Blackfeet Reservation & he is our Chief for life & he is an elder. We are still here in Montana and Canada, 15,000 plus years and stronger than ever Numotahsitaki (thank you) Apotokahn Weasel Head

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    2. Here’s a lesson for you t-h-i-e-r.

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